


Karasuno Alchemists

by LessonsFromMoths



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AU, Alchemy, Brotherhood, Character Parallels, Colonel Sawamura Daichi, Daichi and Suga have been friends forever, Daichi is Mustang, Except no Elric bros, Flame Alchemy, Fluff and Angst, Fuhrer - Freeform, FullMetal Alchemist - Freeform, Homunculi, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mostly angst bc have you seen FMA?, Previous knowledge helps but isnt necessary, Suga is Hawkeye, Transmutation, U know whats up, fma, life threatening injuries, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24655738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LessonsFromMoths/pseuds/LessonsFromMoths
Summary: Colonel Sawamura Daichi would die for his First Lieutenant, Sugawara Koushi. He also might kiss him. Honestly at this point, it's a true gamble as to which will happen first.
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 46





	Karasuno Alchemists

**Author's Note:**

> I took a few liberties, but a lot of this follows the plot of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, except Ed and Al kind of don’t exist lmao.
> 
> For those of you familiar with FMA, here are the loose (and not-so-loose) character parallels:
> 
> Daichi - Mustang  
> Suga - Hawkeye  
> Asahi - Armstrong  
> Tanaka - Heymans  
> Tsukishima - Falman  
> Kageyama - Ross  
> Hinata - Brosh  
> Yamaguchi - Feury  
> Ennoshita - Havoc
> 
> Un-beta'd, please be kind! I hope you all enjoy, I hope you aren't too disappointed :)

**So I know I have some readers here who aren’t familiar with FMA, so here’s a super quick rundown of info you might find helpful while reading:**

**\- The characters in this are members of the military of a fictional country. Some are alchemists, some not, all are working for the government under a Fuhrer.**

**\- Alchemy: “is the scientific technique of understanding the structure of matter, decomposing it, and then reconstructing it. If performed skillfully, it is even possible to create gold out of lead. However, as it is a science, there are some natural principles in place. Only one thing can be created from something else of a certain mass. This is the Principle of Equivalent Exchange.”  
(AKA, alchemy is scientific but very cool and the alchemists can do awesome things like “conjure” fire and create metal structures, depending on their specialty)**

**\- Alchemists need a transmutation circle to direct flow of power, etc etc. The reasoning behind it isn’t super important. Just know that you need a transmutation circle. Most alchemists draw it, skilled ones can make them by clapping their hands together, and Daichi’s is on his gloves so he can snap his fingers**

**\- Philosopher’s stone: a powerful transmutation amplifier that is created and powered by the human lives killed to make it. The stones vary in power based on how many human lives were used to create it.**

**\- Homunculus: an artificial human who is nearly indestructible thanks to the power of a Philosopher's stone, which is the source of their life. They can be identified by a tattoo branded on their skin, known as an ouroboros. They are seen as unnatural and almost impossible.**

**\- Human transmutation: the process of trying to bring a once-living human back to life through alchemy. This is the biggest taboo and is often fatal when attempted. the biggest no no of the alchemy world.**

“Colonel! If you take a left in a few blocks, you might be able to cut him off,” Yamaguchi’s voice filtered through the earpiece, and Daichi didn’t hesitate to follow his directions. He learned long ago to trust the young man’s skills. He ran down the narrow alleyway, picking his way over the uneven cobblestone. This stupid city and its stupid underfunding. It was slick because of the recent rain, and Daichi had to catch himself on the wall so he didn’t completely eat it. 

He could hear Suga and Tanaka behind him, two people that he was happy to have watching his back, as they rushed through the streets. “There, sir!” Tanaka pointed, aiming his gun at whoever caught his attention. Daichi looked to see that they had chased the rogue alchemist to a small, open square, apparently ideal for the criminal to make his stand. 

“I’ll kill every single state alchemist!” The crazed man said, eyes flashing as he looked at the army of three. “And I’ll start with you, Colonel Sawamura Daichi,” he sneered. 

Daichi smirked, stepping forward and tugging on his gloves. He raised his hands and pressed them together, momentarily surprised when nothing happened. The criminal took advantage of his confusion and pressed his hands down onto the alchemy circle he had made, causing the stupid cobblestones that Daichi hated so much to fling towards him and his Lieutenants. They all dove out of the way.

“Sir!” Suga’s voice. “It’s raining.”

Daichi took a moment to feel the droplets accumulating on his skin and he swore. He hadn’t even realized that it had started up again. 

“You’re useless when you’re soggy,” Suga appeared at his side, firearms raised. “We should retreat until backup arrives.”

The criminal alchemist crouched down again to send another shower of cobblestones down on them. They dodged again, one hitting Tanaka in the shoulder but otherwise leaving them okay. Daichi could see the sense in a tactical retreat, but he also saw that citizens of the city were getting drawn into the scene by their own curiosity. It would be too easy for one of them to get caught in the fight. And if a citizen got injured or killed….

“Not today!” Daichi yelled, standing taller and stepping towards the criminal alchemist. He rubbed his hands together, feeling the familiar tug of alchemy at his soul. He knew Suga was right beside him, probably cursing his stupidity, but Daichi couldn’t stand by and watch innocent people get hurt because of something as trivial as rain. With a scream of effort he brandished his open palms in front of him, conjuring a wall of fire. It engulfed the criminal alchemist, startling him long enough for Suga and Tanaka to get a few good shots in. 

Tanaka rushed to subdue the criminal while Suga rushed to Daichi’s side. He made it just in time to steady Dai as he staggered, suddenly lightheaded. “Whoa there, Colonel,” Suga muttered to him as he shouldered half of Daichi’s weight. He had somehow found time to holster his weapons. “Care to explain what that was?”

“Civilians,” Daichi grunted, focusing on catching his breath. It took a lot out of a person to try and gather all of the oxygen in a rainstorm. He had to avoid each little droplet, and also make sure there was enough oxygen left for his subordinates to breathe. Unfortunately, he had forgotten (or maybe not cared enough) to factor in himself. “I’m fine,” he said, the black spots in his vision fading. The ground materialized under his feet.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Suga grumbled back. 

“Good job, Colonel,” Lieutenant Tanaka grinned as he pushed the restrained alchemist past them. Tanaka was one of his most loyal and accurate subordinates, someone Daichi trusted with his life. 

“Let’s just get back to headquarters,” Suga said, dragging Daichi along with him. “We have a lot of paperwork to fill out.” 

He groaned.

.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

Daichi sneezed loudly, pressing a tissue to his nose to try and stifle it a little. Stupid rain, dampening his powers and then getting him sick. If it was a solid being, he would punch it in the face. As it was, all he could do now was try and ignore the tickle in his throat as he filled out the paperwork for the showdown from yesterday and endure the teasing of his team, who would be at the office in about thirty minutes. They thought it was absolutely hilarious that his weakness was something as futile as rain.

Suga walked into the room and took one look at his miserable face before pointing to the door. “Go home, Daichi.”

“But Suga--”

“No. Go home, you’re going to be useless today.” Daichi pouted like a petulant child, sniffling as he stood from behind his desk. 

“Don’t sugar-coat it,” he croaked, voice hoarse from a fitful night of coughing. He grabbed his coat and pulled it on slowly. “It’s just a cold, Suga.” 

“Well just a cold can turn into pneumonia like that one time, and then your alchemy will be totally useless,” Suga said sternly.

“We were like eight!” Daichi protested.

“You look like absolute shit. And you apprehended the criminal yesterday. I can do your paperwork while you recover in bed for one day, Colonel,” he smirked, knowing that Daichi hated it when Suga called him that when they were alone. “I’ll be able to get it done in a quarter of the time it takes you, anyway.” Suga was right, he was unnaturally fast at filling out paperwork. Mostly because he didn’t tend to get sidetracked like Daichi. There were a lot of distractions in the office, from his loud subordinates to demands from Central to the perfect line of Suga’s neck. 

“You’re overreacting,” he said, but was grateful anyways as he coughed nastily into his sleeve. He knew Suga could hear the hint of relief in his voice.

“And you being sick will only slow your ability to do paperwork, which you’re already a sloth at. I’ll call you a car, okay?” Suga’s voice softened considerably at the end of the sentence, but when Daichi looked up at him he was already turning towards the desks and grabbing Tsukishima’s phone. 

Daichi watched his Lieutenant dial in the number, his lips trying to pull up into a soft smile. Suga was a godsend. 

“You worried me yesterday,” Suga said softly as he hung up the phone, call finished. Daichi looked at the man curiously. “Summoning up all of that fire in the middle of a rainstorm. You know you don’t have to take risks like that, right? It’s why I’m here. I always have your back.” Suga’s eyes took on that fierce determination that Daichi loved. That he had seen twenty years ago, when they had first met when they were little and Suga was protecting another child in the village from the tauntings of bullies. Asahi, who was being teased for his height, had too soft a heart, and Suga wasn’t one to let senseless cruelness slide. 

“I know, Suga,” Daichi said just as softly as he wiped at his nose with a tissue. They shared a look, too long and too significant, that was interrupted by Kageyama and Hinata walking into the office, fighting about one thing or another again. Kageyama abruptly elbowed Hinata when he realized that they had an audience.

“Sorry, Colonel, First Lieutenant!” Hinata bowed immediately. 

“You look like death,” Kageyama said bluntly, this time being the one who earned an elbow to the ribs. 

“Colonel Sawamura was just heading home,” Suga gave him a warning look, as if Daichi was going to fight him on it. But Daichi had learned long ago not to argue with a determined Suga. He had tried many times throughout their childhood - what flowers were the prettiest, who was Asahi’s best friend, who would get to carry the sand bucket on the way home from the small, lakeside beach near their town. He had tried again many times throughout the war - where they should move next, what tactics they should employ, whether it was necessary to abandon the mission. Each time, Suga’s expertise and persuasion led them down the correct path. Daichi learned that, without a doubt, daffodils were the prettiest, Nishinoya was Asahi’s best friend, and Daichi would _always_ carry the sand pail. 

So, without another argument, Daichi raised his hands in the air in surrender. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lieutenant Sugawara,” he said with one more sneeze. Suga’s private smile, just for him, followed him all the way home. 

.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

“I liked it better when Lieutenant Sugawara forced you to stay home,” Tanaka muttered, loading his firearm before holstering it again. 

“Oh, come on Lieutenant,” Daichi grinned, his own hands wrapped around a gun. “You know you get a kick out of this.” 

Tanaka gritted his teeth, the sound causing Daichi to wince. “I would rather be doing anything else. I honestly can’t think of a worse way to spend my day.”

“I could be doing paperwork,” Daichi mused. “That would be worse to me.”

The two of them were almost to the house to check on Suga when they heard an awful scream. They shared a look before breaking out into a dead sprint, Daichi silently cursing the cobblestones again. When they got to the safehouse, they saw Suga being held tightly in the grasps of an obese, human-like being. Its jaws were widening as it tightened its grip on the Lieutenant. “Suga!” Daichi yelled.

A shot came from behind and the obese being’s head exploded, giving Suga just enough time to slip out of its grasp. Where the being’s head was, Yamaguchi stood behind it, a large gun shaking in his pale hand. They all watched in horror as the being’s head slowly began to regenerate. And it looked angry. Once it regenerated, it stuck its tongue out, slobbering in its haste to get another taste of Suga. On its tongue was the insignia of evil: an ouroboros. Just looking at it made Daichi shudder. 

It turned and ran suddenly, as if being called. “After it!” Ennoshita appeared from the doorway. “It might have answers!” Daichi knew immediately what Ennoshita was getting at -- this being was similar to the one who had murdered his best friend Hayato Ikejiri a few weeks prior, and might be able to give them clues as to who was responsible. 

They all gave chase until Daichi wasn’t even sure where they were anymore, stuck in an underground labyrinth of tunnels that hadn’t seen foot traffic in a while. “You okay?” Daichi spit at Suga, who had found his side as they ran.

“Just fine,” Suga huffed. “Gonna kill this bastard.” Daichi grinned despite himself. He had no doubts about that.

“The tunnel splits! Which way did it go?” Yamaguchi asked desperately.

“Ennoshita and I will take the right tunnel, you three take the left. Yamaguchi, call for Asahi to help you three out, he’s waiting for a signal. We’ll reconvene soon,” Daichi said. The rest of the team nodded and took off again, no time for goodbyes or well wishes. They all knew that they might not see each other again. It was a risk they took every day.

Daichi and Ennoshita didn’t have to run for long before the tunnel opened up into a room of stone. Their eyes were immediately drawn to a beautiful woman standing on one side of the room, the obese creature sitting at her feet and drooling. “Can I eat them? Can I?” Its awful voice carried throughout the circular room, and the beautiful woman laughed. Like the ugly creature, she had a matching ouroboros displayed on her chest for all to see. 

“Not yet, my pet. You may eat them once I finish up.” Her voice was like spiced rum, smooth and biting. Daichi and Ennoshita shared a look. He could see his Lieutenant plotting and strategizing: the young man’s best skill. She flicked her wrist and the grotesque creature turned and sprinted away, assumingly towards the other half of their split group. Daichi pitied the fool who had to face off against a pissed off Lieutenant Sugawara Koushi.

“Colonel Sawamura!” The woman said, red lips twisted into a bone-chilling grin. “You should have let Lieutenant Colonel Ikejiri’s death go once you arrested Kageyama.”

Daichi gripped his gun tighter, its aim never leaving her chest. “That’s Brigadier General Ikejiri,” he said. The smile slipped from her face.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Because we killed him, and now we’re going to extend the same courtesy to you.” Her fingers grew until they were about three feet long, and she wielded them as one might wield swords. Ennoshita already had his firearm out, shooting endless rounds into her chest. She merely brushed them off as if they were BB shots, advancing on the two men. 

“You can’t kill me. I have a special weapon, see?” The symbol on her chest momentarily faded to show them what was nestled inside: a Philosopher’s stone. “You might as well surrender now so I can kill you quickly.”

“Ennoshita, watch out!” Daichi yelled, also discharging his weapon into her, but she crackled with a red lightning, healing before they could even blink. She advanced on Daichi, slicing at him before he had a chance to react. He cried out in pain, blood flashing before his vision as he lost his grip on his gun. It was second nature to fumble a glove from his pocket, pulling it on and raising his fingers to snap them.

Before he could, he and Ennoshita were covered in water from the water pipe above them, which the woman had slashed open. “Now, now. We can’t have your flames ruining all the fun, can we Colonel?” She asked dangerously. 

“Run!” Daichi screamed, and he and Ennoshita made a break for it. They took cover behind a doorway, breathing hard.

“What now, boss?” Ennoshita asked, gripping his gun and peeking over his shoulder. 

Daichi looked around desperately. Pooling around their feet and wetting their clothes was the water from the pipes. “The water gives me a lot of hydrogen and oxygen to use,” he started thinking out loud, pulling his other glove on. “So how about we do a little alchemy, eh?” Ennoshita grinned at him, knowing exactly what he was getting at and pulling his lighter from his pocket.

“Need a light?” He brought a flame to life with a smooth flick of his thumb.

Daichi channeled his energy into the water beneath them, working to send a shock of electricity through the waves of oxygen and hydrogen and into the other room where the woman was. Ennoshita chucked the lit lighter into the room, and they both covered their ears with their hands as the walls shook from the force of the explosion.

They walked into the room to see if they had damaged her, only to find it in ruins, but empty. “Did we turn her to ashes?” Ennoshita asked, scouring the ground for evidence of her body.

Daichi nodded his head grimly. “I’m well-acquainted enough with the smell of burning bodies to know that she got caught in here somewhere.”

“She might not be dead,” Ennoshita warned. “She wasn’t exactly human. Maybe her body isn’t made of the same stuff.”

“We can’t underestimate her regenerative powers. Stay alert.” Daichi had no sooner spoken the words when Ennoshita’s pained cry filled the air. Daichi turned to see his Lieutenant being suspended in the air by the claws of the woman, their sharp edges protruding from his chest as he screamed. “Ennoshita!” He yelled, and his subordinate crumpled to the ground, blood spilling from his wounds. 

“It’s going to be alright,” Daichi rushed to his side, feeling Ennoshita’s neck for a pulse. He almost cried in relief when he felt a weak but steady thrum against his fingertips.

“He’s as weak as the other one. And he’ll die just as cowardly,” the woman sneered.

“You're going to pay for that,” Daichi threatened, shooting her in the face with Ennoshita’s fallen weapon. 

She laughed, high and piercing. “It’s no use. You’ll have to kill me many times to even begin to weaken me.” 

He ground his teeth and plunged his fist through the symbol on her chest. He was rewarded with the familiar red-hot burning of a Philosopher’s stone. It thrummed in his grasp. “Let’s see you fight without this,” he couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face. But instead of despair, he just saw renewal in her eyes. He tried to inhale but found he couldn’t, and when Daichi looked down at his chest, he saw that her claws had impaled him all the way through. His eyes widened as the pain hit him, coursing through his entire body. She stood and plucked the stone from his hand, replacing it in her chest. She watched him fall to the ground, her eyes calculating. 

“That wasn’t very gentleman-like of you, Colonel Sawamura. I thought I had heard better.” She ripped his glove up and stepped around him, heels clicking. “And I had hoped you’d be more fun. Tell your friend Ikejiri I said hello,” she disappeared, leaving Daichi alone in a rapidly-growing pool of his own blood. 

“Ennoshita,” he gasped. “Talk to me. Ennoshita...you are _not_ allowed to die before I do. _That’s an order.”_

Were they going to die there? Probably. But would he give up without more of a fight? It sounded tempting. He was struggling to breathe, moving his hands slowly, so, so slowly, towards the wounds in his body. He could feel his life leaving him with every pump of his heart. All he could think about was Ennoshita, who was bleeding out beside him, his heartbeat weak but steady, and Suga -- his loyal Lieutenant and friend -- who would be at the mercy of the woman if he didn’t help him.

No, he decided. He wouldn’t give up just yet.

Suga, Tanaka, and Asahi were in a large part of the laboratory when they heard the clicking of heels. Yamaguchi had split from them a while ago to help Hinata and Tsukishima in another part of the laboratory with the large, ugly being that had tried to eat Suga not even thirty minutes before. The two lieutenants watched as a breathtakingly gorgeous woman walked into the laboratory room, crackling with red lightning. 

“You two must be here with the Colonel,” she said mildly. “I thought I should give you the news in person before I send you to the same place I just sent him. To think that I have to lay waste to both of you in one night.” 

“No!” Suga couldn’t see beyond his rage, immediately discharging his weapon into her forehead. She merely gave him an unimpressed look, the wounds closing up with a flicker of red energy, and Suga fell to his knees, unfeeling. Was Daichi really gone? Daichi, their fearless leader? Daichi, with his self-assured smile and easy laughter and strong hands? Just like that? Tears blurred his vision as he stared unblinking at the ground. No, he couldn’t be.

“So weak,” the woman said. “Humans have always astounded me by their weakness.”

“Suga, we have to go,” Asahi placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I hope you’re just as much fun to kill as he was,” the woman said calmly. 

From his peripheral, Suga saw Tanaka empty a round into the woman, causing her to stagger back a little. “Suga, run!” He said, grabbing a nearby pole and trying to fend off an attack. The woman merely sliced through the pole, leaving Tanaka blinking dumbly at it. 

“Tanaka, leave this place,” Suga managed to say through his tears. A life without Daichi was no life at all. Would Daichi understand his cowardice? He might, if Suga could convince Tanaka and Asahi to save themselves. 

“We’re not leaving you,” Asahi grunted, dancing back away from the woman’s sharp weapons. He threw up a wall of dirt to stop the woman from advancing too close.

“I said go!” Suga yelled. 

“Never!” Tanaka yelled back, his arm getting caught on a blade and dripping blood. “No one else needs to die!” 

“I couldn’t agree more,” a voice from the grave spoke from behind the woman, and Suga’s head snapped up. Standing in the doorway was none other than Daichi Sawamura, his uniform soiled with blood and his face pale with pain and anger. Asahi was quick to throw up a large, sturdy wall of stone, his instincts much faster than Suga or Tanaka’s. The air crackled with electricity before fire rained down on the woman, filling the entire room with its heat. Suga didn’t think he had ever been so relieved to feel Daichi’s fire.

He looked around the edge of the wall to see Daichi standing there looking more powerful than he ever had before. He had blood dripping from numerous places, but Suga’s eyes were drawn towards his hand, which had a freshly-carved transmutation circle carved into it. A burned lighter was gripped tightly in one hand and his other was held tightly to his side, where Suga could see remnants of blood. 

“You should have bled to death by now!” The woman screeched, glaring daggers into Daichi. He merely lit the lighter again, sending her ablaze. 

“You’d be surprised what you can do when you’re about to die,” Daichi ground out. “I cauterized the wounds. Lucky I didn’t pass out from the pain.” He lit the lighter again. “You told me I couldn't kill you, but I’d like to try and prove you wrong!” He lit it again.

Suga had been friends with Daichi for over 20 years. He had seen the man in pain, had seen him stuck in anger, in frustration, in sadness. But he had never, in the 21 years he had known Sawamura Daichi, seen the emotion that blazed in his eyes as he lit the woman on fire again. For the first time since knowing him, Suga felt afraid of his friend.

“How many times is it gonna take!?” Daichi yelled, her screams echoing through the room as he lit her on fire. “I’ll kill you until you’re dead!”

“Dai!” Suga screamed, his friend’s pain overriding any fear he might have felt. All he wanted was to wrap Daichi into his arms and heal him. 

“Stop, Sugawara,” Asahi restrained him, though he looked like he wanted to help their colonel too. Suga closed his eyes and sobbed as the woman’s screams continued to fill the air. Over and over until he lost count of how many times. And each time, all he could see was the deadness in Daichi’s eyes. 

Finally, it stopped. 

“I hate losing,” the broken voice of the woman said. “But losing to a man like you might not be the worst thing in the world. I love how calm and focused your eyes are. I love that I’m the one who brought you to this cruelty. I look forward to the day when those eyes are twisted with agony. It won’t be long, now.” 

And she was gone. Asahi let go of Suga, and he immediately tripped his way to Daichi, who crumpled unceremoniously to the ground. “Dai!” He yelled. He reached the colonel, his hands fluttering over him as he tried to assess the damage. 

“Are you alright?” He gritted his teeth, looking at Suga.

“Don’t worry about me! You need to worry about yourself.”

“Ennoshita,” Daichi grunted out. “Needs help. ‘M fine, help Ennoshita.” Asahi and Tanaka were already running back the way Daichi had come from, hopefully to get the lieutenant.

“I’m right here, Dai. I’m not leaving.” 

“Mmkay,” Daichi slurred, his blinks becoming longer and slower. 

“Keep your eyes open,” Suga said. He couldn’t stop the tears that leaked from the outer corners of his eyes, streaming down his cheeks. “Don’t you dare close your eyes, Sawamura,” he said thickly. 

He watched as Daichi swallowed, rocking his head in a gentle shake. “Awake. ‘M fine. Whe’are the others?” His mouth barely moved with the effort. 

“Don’t worry about them, they’re strong. Asahi and Tanaka are getting Ennoshita. You need to worry about yourself. You lost a lot of blood.” 

Daichi chuckled, then coughed at the effort. “‘M fine.”

Suga had heard that phrase a lot in their time as friends. When they were eleven, Daichi fell twenty feet out of a tree after a bet over who could climb the highest. “I’m fine!” He had yelled from the ground, gasping for breath. When they were thirteen, right after Daichi’s parents had died, Suga found him sitting on his porch step, sobbing into his arms. Suga had sat beside him and placed a hand on his friend’s back. “‘M fine,” he had mumbled through his sobs. At fifteen, Daichi had started learning flame alchemy, but burned his entire right arm in the process. It was why he never wore short sleeves in public. “I’m fine,” he had tried to brush it off through his blinding pain as Suga screamed for his dad. At twenty-one, Daichi stood on the battlefield over the burned bodies that he had been the cause of, eyes dark and empty and fists clenched. Suga had put a hand on his shoulder to ground him. “I’m fine,” his voice had been empty. “I’m fine.”

And now, even when he was at his lowest, weak and probably closer to death than he had ever been before, he was still trying to comfort Suga. 

“I know you are,” Suga said. “But let me worry about you for a little longer?” He replaced Daichi’s own hands, which were still holding his guts in his body. Suga applied pressure, causing Daichi to gasp painfully. “Sorry.”

“S’okay.”

“You saved my life,” Suga said softly. He knew Yamaguchi was on his way, hopefully to help him get Dai out of there.

“Course I did. Gotta pay you back...sometime, right?” Daichi coughed weakly again. 

Suga cried out a laugh. “Well, we’re even now, you dumb lug. Stop almost dying on me.”

“I’ll try.”

-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Suga finished, cheeks burning with shame at the admission. 

Daichi was silent for a minute. “You idiot!” He exploded. “How could you believe the word of that wretched homunculus and lose the will to fight?” Suga closed his eyes, taking the verbal reprimand. “And even if I were dead, you cannot let the fear or pain get the better of you. You cannot give up on living!” Suga could hear the pain in Daichi’s voice, signaling that he was more scared than mad.

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“If you’re going to be my adjutant, you’ve got to be stronger!”

The words curled up in Suga’s heart, warming and pinching it at the same time. He could feel Daichi’s resolve crumbling the longer he talked. “Yes, sir.” 

“If you’re going to be the one to watch my back, I expect your full commitment,” he leaned back in his hospital bed, obviously tired from the visit. “And I expect you to leave me behind if the situation calls for it.”

“You’re one to talk,” Ennoshita said. “If you had run when she speared me, you wouldn’t be in the bed next to mine in this damn hospital.”

“You shut up!” Daichi quickly turned to his lieutenant, then moaned and grabbed his side, easing himself back into the pillows. “I can’t believe they put us in the same room,” he mumbled. 

“It’s easier to guard you this way,” Suga said. “The other homunculi might take revenge.” 

“Right,” Daichi said, eyes closing. “I wonder why they haven’t attacked us yet.”

“Sir!” Yamaguchi ran into the room, Tsukishima trailing him at a much more sedated pace. “We have the plans you requested.” He unfurled the maps on Daichi’s lap, and everyone leaned in to take a look. 

“Do you have good news?” Daichi asked.

“Maybe. We retraced our steps the other night and found that all of the laboratories are connected through underground tunnels,” Tsukishima said.

“Is that where we were when we faced the homunculi?” Suga asked. He nodded in confirmation. 

“But that in itself isn’t too important. What’s concerning is this.” Tsukishima pointed to a red circle on the map. “This is the Fuhrer’s house. According to the maps of the city, its basement is connected to all of the labs.”

“The Fuhrer?” Suga gasped, squinting at the maps. 

“That’s the opposite of good news,” Ennoshita groaned from the other bed. 

“A bit. But now we know that we can’t trust the Fuhrer. He’s been there whenever the homunculi are around. We need to keep a close eye on him and each other,” Daichi said grimly. Then he smiled. “Looks like we have a lot of work to do, men. I think we’ve stumbled upon something great here.” They all nodded.

“You’ll have to count me out, sir.” Ennoshita said quietly. 

Suga looked towards him curiously. “Why’s that?” 

Ennoshita swallowed thickly, his fists gripping the sheets of his hospital bed. “I can’t feel my legs. I think now is the time for me to retire.”

Suga held a hand over his mouth, trying to hold in his gasp of horror. Ennoshita, the level-headed, unflappable member of their group...left unable to walk? It was painful to even think about, let alone sit next to the man as he explained his misfortune. 

“I’m sorry, Ennoshita,” Daichi said, voice choked up despite his efforts to keep it steady. “We’ll find a way to fix this.”

-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

“Who was that?” Daichi asked. He and Suga had been outside, trying to come up with a gameplan. They don’t have much. Right now, Suga knew that Daichi couldn’t get his mind off of Ennoshita. As they had walked back into the room, they passed a stranger in a military uniform and an older woman. 

“My mother, and a representative from the Veteran’s Union,” Ennoshita said quietly, gaze focused strongly on the wall ahead of him. “We’re putting together the details of my retirement. My family has a shop, I can work for them.” 

“Ennoshita, you don’t know that this can’t be treated,” Daichi started. 

“Stop. Please. I’m not so naive that I think I can still be of use to you.” Suga could see that Ennoshita still had an iron grip on his sheets, as if he was trying not to lash out in anger or sadness. Daichi noticed, too, and the 5 o’clock shadow on his face seemed to darken. 

“Ennoshita--”

“A pawn is useless when it can’t move,” Ennoshita’s eyes were black and emotionless. He looked up at Daichi, who Suga could tell was maybe thirty seconds from breaking down. “What are you looking at me like that for!?” Ennoshita’s grip on the sheets loosened and suddenly he had a fistful of Daichi’s hospital gown in his fist, pulling the colonel towards him angrily. “Leave me behind! Stop letting me drag you down! You do not have the time to worry about a pitiful subordinate!” His voice was harsh in the silent hospital room. Ennoshita’s fist was shaking, and Daichi was, too. 

“You made a promise to General Ikejiri!! Did he die for nothing!?” Suga stepped forward, ready to intervene. He managed to push Ennoshita back right as he spit out, “I don’t need your pity!” 

“That’s enough, Ennoshita!” Suga said gently but firmly, his hands on the lieutenant’s shoulders. He could feel Ennoshita deflate beneath him. He let go of Daichi’s collar.

“Let me retire. Please.”

Suga could hardly look at the pain on Daichi’s face. He watched as Daichi blinked it away, to be replaced with a firm resolve. He squeezed Ennoshita’s wrist. “Okay,” he said gently. “I’ll leave you here.” Ennoshita fell back in bed, eyes closed and cheeks wet. “I’m leaving you here, so you catch up to me,” Daichi continued. Suga raised his eyes to Daichi, startled but not surprised. 

“I’m going on up ahead. I’ll be waiting for you at the top.” And with that, Daichi left the room. Suga didn’t miss the tension in the colonel’s shoulders as he left. He knew that that had hurt Daichi more than he would ever admit. 

The two of them stood in the silence of Daichi’s exit. “Even when I had given up on living, he told me to watch his back. He doesn’t abandon others,” Suga said gently, and Ennoshita buried his face in his hands, embarrassed by the tears leaving his eyes. 

“He’s a fool. There’s no way he can climb to the top of this country if he’s going to be so soft, is there?” 

Suga smiled, private and full of affection for his childhood friend. “I think it’s okay to have at least one fool like that. One who isn’t willing to throw away the people who have helped him achieve greatness.”

-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

“Why does it always have to be like this?” Tanaka asked, voice high and whiny. 

“Ask me again in a few hours,” Daichi grunted, panting as they turned tail and ran from the grotesque homunculus. 

After multiple sightings, they had managed to lure it to a secluded area of forest, using Daichi himself as bait. Apparently, homunculi weren’t fond of people killing their friends. Daichi could relate. After getting the ugly homunculus away from others, Daichi had tried to set it on fire - imagine their surprise when the homunculus merely opened its mouth and swallowed the fire without hesitation. Hence the reason why him, Tanaka, a state alchemist named Nishinoya, and Suga were all sprinting into the woods, trying not to be consumed by the homunculus. 

“It’s after you, Colonel!” Noya said. 

“Then let’s split!” Daichi didn’t hesitate to yell, and immediately he saw Tanaka and Noya peel off from him, all of them barrelling deeper into the trees. 

“Fuck,” Daichi swore under his breath when he turned and realized that the homunculus was behind him. Its breathing was loud and ugly, and it spat out his name like it was choking on it. 

He had barely caught sight of the creature when it screamed out, crumpling to the ground. Behind it, Suga emerged, a gun in each hand, his eyes focused and arms steady. It gave Daichi just enough time to dive out of the way of the homunculus’ grasp, landing heavily on the ground. He quickly jumped up into a crouch, but as he readied himself to fight he felt a sharp pain in his side. With a cry, he fell to the ground, clutching his not-quite-healed-yet-but-it’s-fine-Suga wounds. His fingernails dug deeply into the dirt as he tried to find the strength to breathe. He was maybe a minute away from passing out, and black spots danced in his vision as if taunting him. 

“Not now, not now,” Daichi chanted, but his body didn’t care. It just wasn’t strong enough yet. He felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. Suga.

“Noya’s transmuting a distraction. We gotta go. Can you stand?” He asked. 

Daichi breathed heavily through his nose, nodding quickly and painfully. With Suga’s help, they managed to get him on his feet, but that was the extent of his abilities. He fell onto Suga, barely able to limp along as he let his friend drag him out of the woods and to the waiting car, where Tsukishima was undoubtedly cursing them from behind the wheel. 

Daichi faded in and out of consciousness, but awoke with a gasp as he was thrown into the back of the car. “Where?” He asked. “Where’s the homunculus?” 

“Sit back. We have to get out of here,” Suga said sternly. “With Noya’s intel that the Fuhrer is a homunculus, we’re needed in Central. Let the other alchemists worry about getting that homunculus. You and I and the rest of our team need to focus on fixing Central.” He gave Daichi a critical look. “And also, you passed out about five times. We’ve been in the car for ten minutes, Dai. It’s too late to go back now.” 

Daichi knew Suga was right, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. “Fine,” he said tightly, squeezing his eyes shut to try and shut out the pain. 

“What’s next, Colonel?” Tsukishima asked from the front seat. 

Daichi swallowed his pain. He could nurse his wounds later. With Suga’s help he sat up straight, a hand still pressed firmly to his wound. “Back home,” he said. “We need to gather some more information. If the Fuhrer really is a homunculus, it will be important to know who our allies are.” 

Not even two hours later, Daichi was standing outside of the main gates of Central, Suga by his side like always. 

“It’s best if you leave once I go inside.” He made eye contact with Suga before turning to go. “One of us should make it out of this.”

“No,” Suga said firmly. 

“That’s an order, Lieutenant,” Daichi growled, freezing in place. His side throbbed.

“It’s an order I cannot follow, Colonel.” Daichi turned and glared at Suga, momentarily getting lost in his friend’s hazel eyes. There was so much emotion shining in them. Every battle they’d ever won or lost, every minute the two of them had struggled together, every time Suga had saved his life or vice versa. When he looked into Suga’s eyes, all he could see was everything they had done together. He would be sad to see it end so soon.

“Then wait for me here. I’ll be out momentarily.”

-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

Central had never felt so lonely. Daichi stared out the window of his office, listening to his new subordinates clacking away at the desks that belonged to the ones he trusted - Suga, Tanaka, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi. Ennoshita. 

_“Why haven’t you killed me yet?” Daichi asked, looking into the eyes of the Fuhrer. Of a homunculus._

_“Because you’re still useful.”_

He hated the way these other soldiers looked at him, like he was a chemistry experiment that they had been put in charge of watching, and now they were just waiting to see if he exploded or not. He refused to give them the satisfaction. Even without his team, he kept a cool head and ran a tight ship - just like Suga would have wanted it.

_“What would your daughter think if she knew her father was a homunculus?” Daichi gritted his teeth, trying to find a weakness in the Fuhrer’s armor._

_“You’ll never be able to use my child to get to me,” the Fuhrer said, voice like steel. “Not like I can use him to get to you.”_

Suga. The Fuhrer had taken him, made him into his assistant so that he could keep a close eye on the First Lieutenant. Even though Suga was still in Central, not sent to the south like Yamaguchi, shipped to the west like Tanaka, or packed off to the north like Tsukishima...he felt further away than any of them. His team, sent to the corner of each sector, with himself in the middle. He longed for their return. They were nothing but hostages. That thought made Daichi so mad that he saw red. 

_“You’ll be a good little soldier, Sawamura Daichi. You know what happens if you aren’t.”_

Suga was so close he could taste it, but he couldn’t reach out again. Another move like that could be fatal. He had called the other man a few days ago, only to be met with short words and lingering silences. He had obviously wanted to reveal something, but couldn’t due to the situation. It made his entire body ache at the thought that Suga was trapped. His sweet, strong-willed Suga was stuck between his duty to Daichi and his need to survive, and Daichi wasn’t completely sure that Suga would pick his own life over his loyalty. 

Daichi wasn’t surprised by the heartache that accompanied Suga’s absence: he had long before realized that he was in love with his best friend. It was hard not to when the guy saved his life so many times over. When they were nineteen, young and impressionable, and Daichi had finally begun mastering flame alchemy, Suga’s father -- also Daichi’s instructor -- made him promise to watch over Suga no matter what. To guard him with his life. Daichi wasn’t sure if he deserved that honor. At the time he was already smitten with Suga’s laugh, Suga’s lilting tease, Suga’s beautiful eyes. Even before gaining the responsibility of being his protector, Daichi would have done anything to keep Suga safe. 

And then the war happened. Being thrust into battle was horrific. And Suga, his father dead and his secrets burned onto his back, followed. He ran right into battle with Daichi, becoming an expert in firearms just to return the favor of safety. The war acted like the moon, with Daichi as the shore and Suga as the tide. It tore them apart and pulled them back together again, over and over. Despite all of the awful things the military made him do, Daichi was still always welcomed in Suga’s arms. The scent of burning bodies would follow him to his cot, and Suga would just lie there with him, murmuring silly little stories from their childhood to help him forget, even for a moment, about the horrors he had inflicted. 

He still remembered being reunited with Suga in the heat of battle, his hazel eyes no longer soft and beautiful - they had turned into the eyes of a killer, just like his had. Suga had turned to him, the light in his eyes long dimmed, and asked why alchemy was being used to slaughter innocents. Back when they were young, Daichi had spun a beautiful future to Suga. He had talked about using alchemy to protect citizens. And now Suga had to watch as he used it to kill. He and Suga had stared at each other, tears welling in both of their eyes, waiting for an answer that would never come. 

Daichi owed Suga everything. And he owed him even more when a note from his lieutenant arrived on his desk. He was on pins and needles all day, wanting nothing more than to rip it open but knowing that he couldn’t trust the men assigned to his office. It was too risky to open the letter with them around. So he waited as patiently as he could for all of them to go home before tearing into the letter. 

It was a pleasant letter, about five paragraphs of normal conversation, with topics ranging from Suga’s new bedroom to old stories about their friends who were now spread to the wind. Daichi only bothered reading it because it was in Suga’s handwriting, looping and beautiful and something he never thought he would miss. But he couldn’t admire it for long. 

He immediately got to work, focusing on the first sentence in the last paragraph of the letter. _But keep this in mind._ Using a pencil, he circled the number of ‘b’s that Suga used in the first paragraph. 16. That corresponded to the letter P. And then, if he used their favorite number as the cipher, P would translate to S. It was a code they had created together long ago as bored kids, fascinated by wild stories of assassins and secret-keepers. 

Daichi repeated the process with the letter ‘k’. 8. H. Which meant that the second letter was E. After he had decoded the first sentence in the last paragraph - SELIM, the name of the Fuhrer's daughter - he moved onto the next sentence. It was a little longer. _We must be stronger than our past._ B-R-A-D-L-E-Y. The next one, this one longer than all the rest. _I am sure that you’ll be thorough with that paperwork._ Daichi’s hand shook as he decoded it. HOMUNCULUS. 

He threw his pencil down, eyes skimming the message until the words didn’t look real anymore. **SELIM BRADLEY IS HOMUNCULUS.**

Well, shit.

-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

Everything was happening so quickly, but that wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

With how fast all of the pieces of their plot were moving, Daichi didn’t have time to dwell on everything that could go wrong. After receiving news from Tanaka and Noya that the Promised Day was quickly approaching, Daichi knew there was no time to waste. 

While he still wasn’t clued in on everything, he knew enough to understand that the Promised Day (initiated by the homunculi and their creator, Father) would bring about a sort of end to humankind that was even worse than death. With the power of transmutation and a massive amount of human sacrifices, Father was going to create a Philosopher’s stone strong enough to become a god. The thought sent chills down Daichi’s spine, and if he thought about it too long he found himself frozen with fear. With the realization that not only was the Fuhrer a homunculus, but also his small daughter, their mission was slowly getting out of hand. What they needed was to be able to rise to the challenge and make a move on the board. Until now they had all just been pawns, their only goal to stay alive and not lose any more comrades. Until now, Daichi had been paralyzed by the thought of Suga in the Fuhrer’s clutches, completely at his mercy. 

Not anymore.

Everything was in place. Daichi passed the message of the truth about the Fuhrer to Tanaka Saeko up in the north in hopes that she’ll take action once they do. Suga had finagled the Fuhrer onto a train for his trip back to Central. Tsukishima and Noya had carefully placed the explosives on a bridge that the Fuhrer’s train would have to pass over. And Daichi, Asahi, and Hinata were stirring up a distraction in the form of complete and utter defiance in Central, trying to unsettle the ranks by capturing the Fuhrer’s wife. It might not have been the best of plans, but it was a pretty good one considering the circumstances.

And everything is going great - news of the Fuhrer’s death panicked all of Central, enough that when Saeko came marching in, it seemed like her taking control over Central was a sure thing. Except. 

And that’s it, isn’t it? Except. Except the other homunculi were waiting. Except, even with Suga and Yamaguchi and Tanaka and strength in numbers, they were overpowered once again. Except the good guys can’t always win, and that realization hurts. 

“Your orders, Sir?” Suga was looking at him with that expression. The one that said, _“I will follow you. Even if it is to our deaths, I will follow you.”_ The look was reflected in the eyes of his other men, who were standing at attention in the underground tunnel where they promised to meet. His subordinates, who were all now labeled as deserters, still stood behind him after all this time.

“We have a lot ahead of us. And even once we begin, we need to remember that there will always be more. Our ultimate task is to overthrow the injustices. We must keep working until I am where we need me to be, in the seat of the Fuhrer. And so you only have one task.” He looked at his subordinates, his comrades, his friends. “Don’t die.” 

“Yes sir!” They exclaimed, clicking their boots at his lead. 

This was it. This was the beginning of the end.

-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

“Daichi,” Suga said, prompting the man to turn around. “It’s time.” Sug watched as Daichi turned slowly from the grave he was standing at, the one that read _Hayato Ikejiri, 1885 - 1914._ Daichi had been hanging around his old friend’s grave a lot more in the recent days. Suga couldn’t blame him: it was fates like Ikejiri’s that kept the Colonel going, reminded him that reform was necessary. 

When Suga caught a glimpse of Daichi’s eyes, his breath left him. They were shining with unshed tears - tears that Suga knew would never fall, but had existed nonetheless. 

“We can do it, right?” Daichi asked. His voice was steady. 

“I’ve never thought otherwise,” Suga said firmly. Daichi’s face did something strange before slipping into a mask of resolve. It reminded him of the first day he worked for Dai.

_Suga could never forget the way Daichi looked at him that day. The war was over, and Suga had been summoned to Daichi’s brand new office. He was wearing his new stars. A commandment for his work in the war. Suga remembered that Dai looked haunted, the stars on his shoulders a reminder of all of the people he had killed._

_“I’m going to appoint you as my assistant,” Daichi had said. “I want you watching my back. Do you understand?”_

_Suga had nodded. “If I ever stray from the path that we are on, you will have a clear shot at my back. It is your duty to take it.” Daichi’s eyes had been hard and cold, void of their usual mirth. Suga missed their sparkle desperately._

_“I understand,” he said softly._

Suga blinked and the memory was gone, tucked into the back of his mind like it usually was. 

“It’s time,” Suga said again. He stepped close to Daichi and cradled his face in his hands, running his thumb smoothly under Daichi’s eyes to catch any tears that might have dared fall. Daichi closed his eyes briefly, his face young and innocent, before opening them again. There was a steely look, one that exuded power and confidence. The look of a leader. 

“Yeah,” he said, turning to look at Ikejiri’s grave one more time. Suga opened his mouth to say something - anything - but before he could, Daichi turned back to him with a self-assured smirk. “Let’s go, Lieutenant.” 

It was easier than he thought to grab the attention of everyone in Central. All they had to do was go in guns blazing, Daichi snapping his fingers every so often to alert the government of their whereabouts. The Fuhrer’s wife stood between their formation, wedged in the middle of a circle that consisted of Suga, Daichi, Tanaka, and Yamaguchi. She still looked frightened and betrayed, but Suga knew that she would soon lose that look. 

“In here,” Suga pointed, and their group trooped into an empty building, where their surprise awaited. 

A small group of soldiers cornered them in the abandoned building. “On your knees,” Suga gently pushed on the Fuhrer’s wife’s shoulders, and she dropped like a rock. He held his gun to her head and watched as Daichi held his gloves hands up in a mock surrender. 

“Are you going to kill us?” Daichi asked calmly. 

The soldiers looked to their leader, who aimed his gun at Suga. “You’re free to shoot everyone but Colonel Sawamura!” He called out. 

Immediately, gunshots filled the air. Suga watched as the guards dropped, riddled with gunshot wounds. He looked up in relief to see the Nekoma rebels grinning from the ceiling beams, smoking guns in hand. Kuroo came up behind the last soldier standing, their leader who had given the kill order. 

“Shoot everyone but Colonel Sawamura, huh?” He asked in his naturally teasing voice, smile sharp and deadly. 

Suga looked down at the Fuhrer’s wife. That was what they wanted her to hear. If she knew that the country her husband had been leading was going to forsake her, she might be more inclined to help them. Of course, she had no clue that her husband and daughter were homunculi, but everything would go smoother with her assistance. 

“We will protect you,” Daichi crouched next to the crying woman and said, and she merely burst into louder tears. 

“Reinforcements are on their way! You gotta do something now,” Fukunaga said, gun at the ready as he peeked out of a high window. 

They all gathered their things quickly and began making their exit, not running but definitely not strolling. From where Suga was walking with the Fuhrer’s wife, he could hear Daichi and Kuroo speaking behind him. 

“Long time, no see Sawamura,” Kuroo said, voice surprisingly serious. 

“You did well, Kuroo,” Daichi said. “Now let’s get out of here.”

Upheaving Central was a lot easier than Daichi had made it out to be. While Dai went around the city clearing a path for them through his explosions, Suga stood on the roofs, shooting soldiers in the legs and feet to incapacitate them. They had all agreed to get through the troops without casualties, so Daichi’s explosions merely threw soldiers against walls or blew out their eardrums, leaving them dizzy. 

And while they were distracting and whittling down the troops in the middle of the city, some friends were about to storm the gates of Central. Suga couldn’t hold back his grin when the alarms of the city started blaring, signaling an enemy at their gates: it was Tsukishima, instructing and directing Saeko’s troops from the north. They had Aoba Johsai at their backs, and Suga couldn’t be more grateful. 

Led by the cunning Oikawa and backed up by the toughest of the tough, Aoba Johsai lived by one rule: survival of the fittest. That was exactly what they needed right now. 

“Kuroo, we’re running low on ammo!” One of the Nekoma crew ran up to where Daichi, Kuroo, and Suga were hanging out, waiting for more soldiers. “Isn’t the supply unit supposed to be coming soon?”

“We don’t know if they’ll ever come,” Kuroo said grimly.

“If it comes to that, leave me here and go. I’ll create as much of a distraction as I can.” Daichi snapped his fingers at a few soldiers who were running towards them. 

Suddenly, as if summoned, an ice cream truck pulled up on the road next to them. 

“Took you long enough!” Suga yelled at it, and he grinned when the door burst open to reveal Kageyama and Hinata, waving frantically at them. 

“Sorry!! We come bearing presents!” Hinata yelled, revealing guns, weapons, and ammo. 

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Kageyama yelled, beckoning for the Nekoma crew to take the weapons from the van and for Suga and the rest to get in. “We have to regroup, and the Colonel has a phone call.” 

“Do I?” Daichi asked amusedly, and once everyone was inside Kageyama floored it. “Does this have anything to do with the weapons?” 

“You’ll have to speak with them yourself, Colonel,” Kageyama said, but a smile threatened to overtake his face. They arrived at a phone tower not too far from the city, where Hinata held out the receiver. 

“Colonel!”

Suga followed Daichi to the phone, and sat close enough that he could hear the conversation. “Hello, this is Colonel Sawamura Daichi of the armed forces. I’m honored to be able to --” 

“You sound so respectful! How about we talk candidly, Colonel?” The voice on the other end laughed, and Daichi went pale. Suga choked back a pleasant laugh - the voice was much too unique to belong to anyone else. 

“In your hearts for 80 years, with everything from underwear bands to armored vehicles, delivered to you, anytime, anyplace, just a phone call away...Your neighborhood Ennoshita store!” Ennoshita said from the other side of the phone in an announcer’s voice.

“Ennoshita!” Daichi said excitedly. Suga grinned. 

“And just how are you going to pay me back for all of these weapons, Colonel?” Ennoshita’s voice said teasingly over the receiver. 

“Put it on my tab,” Daichi grinned widely. “I’ll pay you when I’ve made it big.”

-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

“Sawamura! I’ve heard of you. You killed Lust, did you not?” The homunculus smirked at him, clearly feeling that he had the upper hand. From what Daichi could gather, this one went by the name of “Envy,” and was probably one of the most annoying ones he had encountered. They had made it back into Central, broadcasting over the radio an interview where the Fuhrer’s wife admitted that the military had been trying to kill her. Hopefully that would get the public on their side, allowing for more aid. 

But while they were in Central, they got wind of a disturbance at the labs. They had followed up on it, leading to another homunculus wreaking havoc on the city.

“Let me ask you something,” the homunculus continued. “You humans love watching each other suffer, do you not? Isn’t that why you’re always at war with each other?”

Daichi studied the homunculus for a moment. “Yes, it is delightful to watch fools get worked up into a frenzy.” He felt Suga stiffen beside him at his cruel tone, and Envy grinned. Daichi smirked menacingly. “And watching fools who are homunculi go into a frenzy is especially enjoyable.” Envy’s smile disappeared. 

“I answered your question,” Daichi said. “Now answer mine. Who was it that killed Hayato Ikejiri?” Suga let out a small gasp. 

“It was Kageyama Tobio. The one who was punished and killed for his crimes,” the homunculus said, alluding to the media story that they had released regarding Ikejiri’s death. 

“No, it wasn’t him,” Daichi said patiently. “I’m sick and tired of asking you homunculi this question,” he said, voice rising in volume. “Now tell me the truth! Who killed Ikejiri?” 

Envy started laughing. They all stood waiting. “Congratulations, Colonel Sawamura. You’ve finally arrived at your answer.”

Daichi narrowed his eyes, and Suga raised his gun. 

“The look on his face when I killed him...oh, it was _terrific!”_ He screamed, still laughing.

“That’s all I needed to know,” Daichi said. He raised his gloved hand, ready to obliterate Envy to nothing. “The rest of you, go on ahead. I’ll take him.” 

“Are you sure?” Asahi asked tentatively. “We can help!” He said, right as Daichi sent a shot of fire right into Envy’s laughing mouth, causing the Homunculus to sputter and spit. 

“Go, Asahi. Help the rest of the team. We can manage,” Suga said, gun trained on Envy. The rest of Central was still under attack from the other homunculi and Father, who they needed to get to.

“But…”

“Go, Asahi! Help them in Central.”

Daichi heard Asahi and the rest of the troupe leave, and as they did Envy’s body began quaking. He grew until he was towering above both Daichi and Suga, taking on a monstrous form that looked half-wolf, half-lizard. It was grotesque and ugly, and still spoke with the same voice. “Stay back, Lieutenant!” He said to Suga, who looked ready to charge.

“You’ll have to fight me all-out, Colonel,” it said. “I can’t really pull my punches in this body, so I cannot be held--” 

Daichi snapped his fingers, and the creature screamed in pain. “How does it feel to have the fluid in your eyeballs boil? I hope it hurts beyond imagination,” he said as it writhed in pain. “I can’t believe you made my target bigger for me. Now regenerate quickly, so I can burn you to death!” Daichi yelled, his anger cool to combat the heat of his attack. He would hold steady as an iceberg until Envy burned to death. 

Suddenly, Envy turned on his tail and ran, sending boulders at Daichi and Suga. “Hold it!” Daichi yelled, running after it into the labyrinth underneath the laboratories again. He was really getting sick of that place.

“Colonel!” He heard Suga yell behind him. 

“Lieutenant you wait here! I’ll take care of him!” He hoped that Suga wouldn’t follow, but knew that that was unlikely. Suga had followed him into much worse places without a moment’s hesitation. 

Daichi sent fire at the running homunculus, making it scream in pain again. It turned a corner and disappeared. “Where are you, Envy!?” He yelled. “If you don’t come out, I’ll hit you with a bigger explosion!” 

He heard footsteps behind him and whirled around, only to be met with the face of Ikejiri. His eyes widened. “Yo, Sawamura. You’re only human! I can trick you!” He yelled, charging Daichi. Daichi set his jaw and snapped his fingers, anger thrumming through his veins like ice.

“You’d burn up your best friend without hesitation!?” Envy screamed in disbelief, still wearing Ikejiri’s face. 

“Ikejiri is dead,” Daichi rasped, his throat closing in around his words. “He’s gone. Your actions have only poured more fuel onto the fire!” He snapped his fingers again. 

Envy screamed and charged him again, but Daichi struck him down, again and again. Envy writhed in pain, screeching before he ran. Oh, how Daichi hated cat and mouse.

-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

“Now, won’t you die here for me?” Suga asked, shooting bullet after bullet into Envy. He had run into the homunculus after he had followed Daichi into the maze that was the basements, unable to leave the colonel by himself. Envy lashed out, catching Suga’s shoulder with the sharpness of his hand, but Suga ignored the blood as he continued to reload his weapon, discharging it into Envy’s head and chest.

“Now me!” Envy screeched, and his arm transformed into a vine, grabbing Suga and slamming him into the ground. Suga grunted in pain, his head receiving a jolt as it smacked the limestone. He opened his eyes just in time to see the brightness of flames. Daichi. The vine around him vanished as Envy regenerated. 

“Colonel?” Suga asked, head swimming in pain. He watched from his spot on the floor as Daichi approached Envy, no fear or hesitation in his eyes. 

“Now what are you doing to my dear subordinate? He asked, voice cold and eyes dead, and for the first time Envy looked scared. Daichi snapped his fingers again and again, screaming in frustration each time, a look in his eyes that rivaled the one he had as he was burning Lust to death all those weeks ago. 

Suga watched in horror as Envy’s body shrunk until it was nothing but a small, ugly creature, looking like something akin to a tadpole or a leech, about the size of Daichi’s shoe as he stepped on it. “Is that your true body?” Daichi’s normally calm face was still screwed up in a terrible anger. “You’re ugly. It makes sense,” Daichi continued, cruel and unrelenting as the creature begged for mercy, “because envy means jealousy, and jealousy is an ugly thing.” 

“No, no, I don't want to die!” It cried as it squirmed beneath Daichi’s boot, tears dripping from its large eyes. 

Daichi had no mercy in his gaze as he raised his fingers. “Be gone from my sight!” He yelled, and before Suga knew what he was doing, he had his gun held to Daichi’s head. He cocked it, stopping the man from snapping his fingers. 

“What do you think you’re doing, Lieutenant?” He asked, his voice still stuck in a menacing whisper. 

“That's enough, Colonel,” Suga’s voice was strong. The weight in his chest grew heavier. He couldn’t stand to see the anger on Daichi’s face anymore. “I will deal with him from here.” 

Daichi’s hand didn’t waver. “One more blast, and he’s finished. Put down your gun,” he ordered. 

Suga inched the gun closer to Daichi’s head. A pit of dread formed in his stomach. He fought to keep his voice steady. “I cannot obey that order. Please put your hand down.”

“Stop screwing around!” Daichi screamed, and electricity crackled around his fingers. “I said put it down!” 

The ground beneath Daichi’s feet flipped up, causing the ugly-looking homunculus to soar right into Suga’s unoccupied hand. He blinked at it in surprise, then looked past Daichi’s shoulder to see Asahi, shaking and pale, with his hands pressed onto a transmutation circle. Daichi shot Asahi a withering look before turning back to Suga.

“Lieutenant. Give me that.” His eyes looked dead, his rage unbridled and pure. Suga resisted the urge to look away.

“No,” he said strongly.

“I’m not going to ask again,” Daichi’s hand was outstretched, and his fingers crackled with electricity again. “I must give him the worst of all deaths.”

“No.”

“Give him to me!” Daichi screamed, throwing his hand higher in the air in warning. “Or I’ll burn him along with your hand!!” 

“Fine with me!” Suga yelled back. “Do your worst, Daichi!” At the sound of his name, Daichi’s hand lowered a few centimeters. “But before you do, take a look at your face! Is that the face you plan to wear when you become the Fuhrer? What happened to your promise to Ikejiri!?” Suga begged, trying to make the terrifying anger disappear from Daichi’s gaze.   
What happened to ‘those below me will protect those below them?’”

Daichi’s eyes widened, becoming glassy.

“Are you going to go down the path of revenge?” Asahi’s voice broke through the electricity. Daihchi turned to him. “You can if you want to. But I promise, it will eat you alive. And to see this land ruled by a man who is held captive by his own hatred would only breed more hate,” he said. 

Suga could see Daichi’s armor cracking. “Colonel, I cannot allow you to kill Envy,” he said. “That being said, I do not intend to let him live. I will dispose of him, sir.” 

Daichi squeezed his eyes shut. “But I finally did it! I finally ran him down! For what he did…”

“I know!” Suga yelled, cutting him off. “I know. But still...what you are about to do is not to help this country or your friends. It is to vindicate your hatred.” Daichi had his back turned, so he couldn’t see how hard Suga’s hand was shaking from where it was wrapped around the gun. He held it, still, hoping that Daichi would make the right choice. Even though he had promised years ago to shoot him if he strayed from the path of good, Suga wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to bring himself to do it. “I can’t allow you to stoop to that level!”

Daichi cradled his hand to his chest, holding in what might have been a sob or a shout. “If you wish to shoot me, shoot me,” he said calmly, making Suga’s chest seize up. “However, once you shoot me, what will you do then?” It was an honest question, one that Suga knew he needed to take care in answering.

For once, Suga couldn’t read the tone of Daichi’s words. He wished he could see his face. He swallowed. “I have no intention of living on by myself, carefree,” he said honestly. “Once the fight is over, I will destroy my body, along with the horrifying secrets of flame alchemy on its back, from this earth.” He said it with complete conviction, mostly because he knew it to be true. Without Daichi, Suga found no purpose to continue. And the practice of flame alchemy had to die with him. 

His words made Daichi let out an anguished noise, his shoulders hunching and hand shaking. He sent a flash of fire down the hallway to their right, lowering his hand and keeping it at his side. They stood there for an indeterminate amount of time, Daichi silent and Suga’s gun still trained at his head. Envy sat silent in his left palm. 

“I can’t have that,” Daichi’s voice softly rang through the tunnels. “I can’t...afford to lose you,” his voice cracked. 

“What kind of situation is this?” Daichi asked. “Being scolded and lectured by a coward,” he soit towards Asahi, then turned his body slowly, so that Suga could see his eyes, “causing you pain, once again…” There were unshed tears held in his anguished gaze. “I’m a fool.” He took a few steps and took Suga’s gun in his hand, lowering it. “I’m sorry,” Daichi whispered, collapsing onto the ground. Suga let out a breath and fell with him, so that they were sitting facing each other. 

“Are you dense? Do what you want to do, don’t listen to the voice of empathy!” Envy screeched. “You humans, I could never understand! Why would you give up on your convictions? Why would you forgive!? It makes no sense.”

Suga and Daichi just looked at the pitiful creature as it screamed. And Suga realized that the homunculus truly could never understand. He didn’t know the depth of human connection, and so he would never understand why Daichi didn’t kill him. And he was envious of humans because of it. Suga’s eyes lit up with the realization, and the homunculus screamed and cried when he voiced it.

“How humiliating! Me, Envy, jealous of humans? Jealous of humans!?” Suga watched in muted horror as the tiny creature reached into its mouth and pulled out the Philosopher’s stone that resided there, effectively killing himself. His body dissolved in Suga’s palm. 

Suga was surprised to see Daichi covering his face, crying. “He terminated his own life? Cowardly bastard,” he grunted, but Suga could see the regret. The regret of wanting revenge, the regret at Ikejiri’s death, the regret of causing Suga pain. 

“Come now,” Suga said. Now was not the time for weakness. Not from him, not from Daichi. “We have a war to win.” 

-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.  
-  
.

The day was coming. The day that would mark the end of days. Daichi hadn’t slept properly in weeks, yet he had never felt more energized. It was exhilarating, to know that the end of your life was marked on a calendar. He could feel his clock ticking with the heavy knowledge that he might not live to see next week. Hell, _might_ was looking at it positively, more than likely he _wouldn’t_ see next week. The thought wasn’t as depressing as he thought it’d be. 

The only thing that gave him reservations was Suga. Beautiful Suga. His weak spot. His best friend. His first and last love. Suga would be so angry to hear him speak about his own death like that. To hear him treat it as merely another casualty in a pointless war. For Daichi, who could see the big picture, that’s what it was. But to Suga, who had cared for Daichi in his darkest times, who had fought by his side without question or fail, who he had hurt more times than he could count, who had cradled his face so gently as he cried….

Suga wouldn’t want to hear it. So Daichi wouldn’t say anything. 

Deep down, he knew that Suga was preparing for the possibility, just as he was. In all likelihood, if he fell, so would Suga. And still, the other man followed him. His one regret would be never telling Suga how much he loved him. He figured the other man already knew. 

Fighting with him, side-by-side, was as exhilarating as always. As Suga’s guns fired over and over at the superhuman men, engineered by darker parts of the government, trying to kill them, Daichi dodged their attacks with accuracy and as much grace as he could muster. Just in this fight, Suga had saved his life more times than he could count. 

“You left your back wide open, Colonel,” Suga said teasingly as he shot his guns at two men behind Daichi while Daichi looked on with wide eyes.

“I’m letting my subordinate cover it. It happens,” Daichi responded, dodging another attack. 

Would they survive? It seemed unlikely. He was wearing down quickly, as was Suga, Asahi, and Nishinoya. Sure, they had made it out of what seemed like bleaker situations, but Suga’s shoulder was still injured from Envy’s attack not even an hour before and the three alchemists were unable to use their alchemy in the odd tunnels that surrounded the Father. They were trapped. 

So this was it. And by the look in Suga’s eyes, he knew it too. 

“Colonel! You have a choice to make.” The creator of the superhuman soldiers, a man who called himself a doctor, smiled cruelly at them. He nodded his head to the soldier that held Suga, and the soldier slit Suga’s throat with a quick flash of his sword.

“Suga!” Daichi screamed as blood poured from the wound. He was getting deja vu to the last time he was in these damned tunnels. 

“Perform a human transmutation and I can save your beloved Lieutenant with my Philosopher’s stone, or wait until he dies and perform a human transmutation on him!” The doctor laughed, giddy at the prospect. The soldier dragged Suga’s limp body to the transmutation circle in the middle of the dark room, throwing him down unceremoniously. Blood pooled around his body, and Suga’s already pale face turned a chalky white, sweat beading at his forehead. 

“Don’t you dare, Dai,” Suga gasped, holding a hand to wound. 

“We need you to perform it, Colonel,” the doctor said. “Otherwise we’ll have no use for you. Are you just going to sit there and watch your beloved subordinate die!?” 

Daichi looked at Suga helplessly. He had never been so angry or devastated. This was truly the end. If Suga died, a piece of himself that was too large for him to go on without would die too. Suga’s eyes bore into his own, pleading as he trembled on the cool ground. It was an expression Daichi had seen before, and it filled him with cold dread.

“All right,” he said, his voice breaking. He knew what he had to do.

“Oh, you’re going to do it?” The doctor sang.

“All right, Lieutenant. I won’t perform a human transmutation.”

The doctor looked shocked. “You're going to forsake him?” He looked down at Suga, who was bleeding out at his feet. “I’m surprised.”

“Not as surprised as you’re gonna be!” Daichi yelled, and suddenly his team dropped in through the ceiling, using the air ducts in the tunnels to overpower the supersoldiers. Tanaka, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima all came in guns blazing, taking control of the situation. 

In the confusion Daichi stabbed his captors with their own swords, breaking away and immediately running to Suga’s side, gathering him up into his arms. “Lieutenant, stay with me!” Suga’s eyes were closed, his face twisted with pain. “Lieutenant, open your eyes!” Daichi yelled, but Suga didn’t move. He had never been more afraid. “Lieutenant!! Don’t you die! Stay with me,” he yelled, refusing to lose it. He had to stay calm. Had to stay calm. Oh god, Suga was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it, nothing at all nothing at all his best friend oh god --

“I can help!” Noya ran over, drawing a quick circle in Suga’s blood and pressing his hands to it. Daichi placed Suga down as a blue light emitted from the ground, and Suga stirred.

“Lieutenant!” Daichi immediately cradled him in his arms again, pressing his face to Suga’s soft hair. 

“I’ve stopped the bleeding, but you have to get him to a proper doctor,” Noya said. 

“Thank you, I owe you one,” Daichi said, eyes trained on Suga. 

Suga groaned, looking up at Daichi. “Dai, I’m sorry,” he whispered, breathing labored.

“Don’t speak, just rest,” Daichi whispered back, his face inches from Suga’s. 

Suga’s eyes were dry but creased with pain. A pretty close-lipped smile graced his face. “I’m so glad you understood the look I gave you,” he said. 

Daichi smiled back, just as softly. “It’s because we’ve known each other so long. Besides,” he said, laughing despite the tightness in his chest, “you were glaring at me with that look that said, _‘Perform human transmutation, and I’ll shoot you.’”‘_

Suga laughed painfully, and Daichi helped him up. “Come on, we have to get you out of here.” 

As he helped his friend up, Suga chuckled a bit. “I thought, for a moment, that you were going to do it,” he gasped as they started walking, and Daichi winced at Suga’s pain.

“Maybe I would have, before. But now I know that I have people who will put me in my place and stop me from doing what’s wrong.” Suga smiled at that.

The day would come when their luck ran out, when one of them would fall and the other would follow. It was as inevitable as the moon rising or the tide crashing on the shore. But that day wasn’t today. 

Daichi would do whatever it took to keep that day from arriving for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> So I know there isn't any "established relationship uwu Daichi and Suga ended up together happily ever after!!!!!!!" moment, but I really liked where this ended. I think it was very FMA.
> 
> Is there still a chance for an epilogue/second chapter? I won't make promises, but there's a chance! I have a huge hard-on for Roy n Riza and would love to imagine Dai and Suga in their lives. However, I am also super happy with how this ended and most likely will not return. 
> 
> Thank you so much for your support, I appreciate you all more than you could ever know!
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment or kudos, I respond to all comments!


End file.
